Week 43: Levitation

I'm a bit behind on my challenges. To be honest, I think I've been running out of steam and inspiration. But this week for levitation I had ideas ... big ideas! Last time I did this challenge, I held up a leaf to make it look it was levitating instead of falling. But this year

Week 39: Autumn

As I learned again this year, autumn doesn't necessarily fall on week 39. Did you catch that pun? So I gave myself a bit more time. And I'm glad I did. Our cat Wellington loves autumn. For him, it's about plump and juicy chipmunks and squirrels that have become slower and more distracted as they

Week 38: Laughter

I did see laughter this week, but most of the time didn't have a camera to capture it. Two of this week's photos were taken at an event that I volunteered at. Every time I heard laughter, I would hone in and try to capture it visually. The third photo was taken with my cell

Week 37: Perspective

This week, I tried to capture things from unusual perspectives. The Sony A-6600 accompanied us on a hike in Gatineau Park. I knew it was mushroom season and was looking for them at the start of trail #1. The camera was below the mushrooms, trying to make them look bigger from this perspective. It also

Week 36: Nature

When I decided to re-order the challenges to better match where I would be, this one didn't really end up in the right place. I did try to stop for nature pictures while we were cycling in Europe, but they didn't make the cut. Instead only one photo from the trip made it this week,

Week 35: Adventure

If only I could have figured out a way to capture the adventure of dealing with a rail strike when you have an overnight couchette that turns into 3 transfers instead of an early. But we were so busy living that adventure with full hands that there was no way to take any photos. Instead,

Week 34: Top down

This week's challenge was timed with our flight to Europe. I had re-arranged the challenges to give myself the best opportunities. And while I was able to take a lot of top-down photos from the plane, I also spent the week looking down a lot more than usual. During the week we cycled from Amsterdam

Week 33: Fleeting Moment

I have to admit I felt a bit like a creeper trying to capture a fleeting moment. But how else do you find a fleeting moment without being ready and patiently waiting with your camera. We'd been doing a lot of bike rides that had stops at beaches, so I brought along the less intrusive

Week 32: Immensity

It would have been great to spot a snapping turtle while paddling on the Rideau River. Those are huge! But luck wasn't on my side so I had to look elsewhere. I found it downtown and along the Ottawa River. I kept the Sony A-6600 in its bag all week. I planned a bike ride

Week 31: Colour

This week's theme had me stumped for a while. I knew where to find some great colour (the boat rentals at Dow's Lake) but went at the wrong time of day. So instead I played around with the creative settings on the Sony DSC-WX500 and shot some red only photos. I also visited the Farmers'

Week 30: Immobility

This week's challenge was difficult to wrap my head around. Am I looking for things that can't move? Or just aren't moving in the moment I capture them? Traffic on the Queensway on the Friday afternoon of the start of the August long weekend. Lots of immobility there. In both directions. Take out Samsung cell

Week 29: Movement

Since we were still at the cottage, I continued to look for movement outdoors. Sometimes it was simply being at the right place at the right time and using my phone, other times I explored with my Sony A-6600. Our cat was visited by a family of ducks one afternoon. They arrived first by the

Week 28: Sunrise

When I decided to return to weekly challenges, I reordered certain ones to coincide with places I'd be. So this week's challenge fell into time at a cottage we rented. We rented the same one last year so I knew this is THE spot to watch the sunrise. It's also why I am posting late

Week 27: Summer

I finally ventured out with my Sony A-6600 to capture some summer moments. In fact, on a meandering bike ride along the canal, I actually used both Sony cameras, since sometimes a small point and shoot is less intimidating when you're trying to capture some summer magic. A lot of my summer is spent on

Week 26: Canada

Canada Day was different again this year. The fireworks and crowds were back, but not on Parliament Hill. A lingering fear was bubbling beneath the surface but never reappeared fully. But all in all, life is a lot better this year. The RCMP Musical Ride returned, but the Governor General's footguards and the RCAF Snowbirds

Week 25: Reflection

I really enjoyed this challenge two years ago. I walked a lot during the first year of the pandemic. But this year I'm cycling more, which means I have to plan ahead a bit more so that I know where I'm going. The good news is that I'm more familiar with the neighbourhood and when

Week 24: Negative Space

I've been busy cycling for the past week and haven't taken out the Sony A-6600 at all. But I do have a plan for it in next week's challenge. Even the Sony DSC-WX500 only made it out for a hike. But that's the beauty of modern smart phones. It's a camera, a diary, an encyclopedia,

Week 23: Details

This week, I walked along the Rideau River with my Sony DSC-WX500 in the rain looking for turtles and herons. It was a slow meander, on the path and then down to the river looking for wildlife or small details you wouldn't normally see. I didn't find turtles or herons, but I did find a

Week 22: Black and white

I'm not overly impressed with these black and white photos. I wish I had set my Sony A-6600 to black and white setting so that I could see it as I shot it. I remember buying black and white film back in the day. And taking interesting photographs of ordinary things. It helped me see

Week 20: Symmetry

This week the Sony A-6600 went into hibernation. Instead, I used the DSC-WX500 and my smart phone. Sometimes they can be almost as good, and allow you to remain more hidden as a photographer. They're also more convenient when you're on the go. The Sony point and shoot went back to Lansdowne Park and the

Week 19: Action

This week was the first heat wave of the season. It meant a lot of people were outside enjoying the sunshine. So lots of opportunity to find some action. But the heat .... baby was it hot for three days! My first stop was the Ottawa Redblacks rookie camp with my Sony A-6600 and the

Week 18: No Sky

After a week of looking up, I was looking down. I like doing these photography challenges. Next year, I will add more of my own ideas to it. Trying something new each week has made me realize what I like to photograph, even as I try to see it with a new lens. Most of

Week 17: Sky

Well for once the weather cooperated! This past Tuesday was the best day for a stroll along the Ottawa River through Andrew Haydon Park and Dick Bell Park. The sky was threatening but it didn't rain. The ground was dry ... enough ... after a night of rain. And we saw lots of wildlife too.

Week 16: Power of elements

I have to admit I was a bit lost with this theme. What does it mean? Is it the composition? Or how what you choose to show or eliminate can change the meaning behind the photo. I decided to see if I could use different elements - light, texture, shapes, lines, or patterns - to

Photo Challenge Week 15: Rule of Thirds

I had hoped to capture the pink moon over Easter Weekend, but the weather is still not cooperating. Spring is a few weeks late this year, and snow was in the forecast. Again. After being disappointed with no moon photos, I tried to stage some photos with my Sony A-6600 with a bit of an

Photo Challenge Week 14: Spring

On a week where I was looking for the change of season, winter kept wanting to hang on. I'd hoped to see more blossoms, but was happy to at least find some buds. And almost as an extension of last week's theme, I found lots and lots of water. I schlepped along the Rideau River

Photo Challenge Week 13: Water

The best part about doing your own weekly photo challenge is having the flexibility to change themes based on your own circumstances. Laughter just wasn't in the cards for me this week, so I diverted to water for this week's subject. There is a lot of water right now with the spring run off. Let's

Photo Challenge Week 12: Happiness

Happiness. It's a mindset. Not just a fake smile for a selfie. This week my Sony A-6600 didn't get used at all. Because I was trying to be stealthy and capture people's faces again. Now that masks are no longer mandatory. Except a funny thing happened. I was too busy enjoying the hockey game to

Photo Challenge Week 11: Leading lines

This week I took my Sony DSC-WX500 out on the ski hill and for walks around the city. It's a great little camera and easy to put in a pocket or purse. Not that I don't like my Sony A-6600. It's just not quite as portable. As the end of the ski season is approaching,

Photo Challenge Week 10: Portrait

The beauty about creating my own photo challenge is that I can change my subject if I need to. This time I switched Happiness for Portrait. Mostly because I think I'll see more happy people in two weeks when masks are no longer mandated in Ontario. I tried to bring some happiness to my father

Photo Challenge Week 9: Light

Light is a key element of photography. In can set the mood, show contrast and add depth. At the beginning of the week, I had hoped to do some light painting, maybe on an interesting old wall in the Byward Market. But by the time I thought of it, the weather forecast was calling for

Photo Challenge Week 8: Night

When I was determining the themes for each week, I tried to make it as easy as possible for what I thought would be happening in my life. Like "love" during the week of Valentines. During Week 8, I was in three different locations and was able to capture different aspects of life in the

Photo Challenge Week 7: Love

I'm still working with limited tools but had the calendar on my side. Love was in the air because of St. Valentine's. Ikea Love Rodelliebe Beer love Holiday Love

Photo Challenge Week 6: Panorama

Since I'm limited with what I can do in post-production and with my equipment, I decided to tackle this week's challenge with my phone camera. It takes a way better panorama because you can do it in portrait mode to get a taller picture. We spent last week in the Zillertal Valley and I couldn't

2022 Photo Challenge Week 5: Architecture

Traveling used to be fun, but COVID makes it challenging. We had booked our European ski vacation over a year ago when vaccines were going to be the beginning of the end of the pandemic. It was a challenging getting to Germany and Austria but the rewards are worth it. There simply aren't as many

2022 Photo Challenge Week 4: Wildlife

Oops, I'm a bit late posting, but not because I didn't have my photos ready. I still can't believe how many times I went outside during extreme cold warnings in the past week. Like really cold. When I snowshoed with the group up to Healey Cabin in the Gatineau Park, I knew I would stop

2022 Photo Challenge Week 3: Framing

Okay, I admit that I switched around some challenges. It was just too friggin' cold to take sunrise pictures. Not that I didn't try. Either the sky was completely clear, which makes a sunrise boring, or I couldn't see the sun at all. So I traded this week's theme with "Framing" and went outside in

2022 Photo Challenge Week 2: Winter

This week went by like a blur. I didn't check what my photo challenge was until this morning. I had thought that it was Sunrise. And it's been really frickin' cold this week. I didn't even know where the sun rose at this time of year in our new neighbourhood. So one morning, when we

2022 Photography Challenge: Week 1 Study

The stars really are aligning for my photography this year. Two years ago, I looked through my photo galleries for the first challenge. This year, I am going to start purging all the unused photos from the past and better categorize (for later purging) the photos of the future. All this because my iMac is

Happy 2022!

Good riddance 2021! Don't let the door hit you on the way out! That's right! Just like those wild turkeys ... keep going and don't look back! After completing a weekly photo challenge in 2020, I decided to move to a monthly challenge in 2021. It didn't work out quite as I'd planned. Like most

April: black and white

My plan was to actually shoot in black and white, like in the old days with film. But I found the settings on my phone and DSC-WX500 to be a challenge. Every time I turned off the camera, I had to reprogram the black and white. So in the end, I used Lightroom to convert

2021 March Photo Challenge: Photo Painting

I wasn't sure I would be able to meet this month's challenge. In late February I had shoulder surgery on my right arm. And cameras, other than the one in my cell phone, require the use of your right arm, which also happens to be my dominant arm. Needless to say, March was an interesting

2021 February Photo Challenge: Winter

I know I'm a few weeks late posting in only the second photo challenge of the year. But I have had a good reason: shoulder surgery. It was originally scheduled for the first week of February and I was so busy getting everything ready around the house, I barely had time to take any photos.

2021 January Photo Challenge: Creativity

So after lockdown turned into stay at home, I was happy to have a few fun things from the dollar store to spark my creativity. In the end I decided to focus on bubbles. It's a term used by public health officials to try to get people to have less contact with others. It didn't

Welcome to 2021

Who wasn't happy to see the end of 2020? It changed most people's lives and challenged us to find peace and joy in a much smaller space. Maybe that's a good thing for a photographer. We like to be behind the lens, not in front of it. I thought a lot about whether I would

Photo Challenge Week 52: Christmas

Well, I did it! I made it through all 52 weeks of challenges. I am so glad that I decided to commit to photography over the past year. 2020 disrupted so many lives and my weekly photo challenges helped to bring routine. I learned a lot about my new Sony A-6600 and my first ever

Photo Challenge Week 51: Winter

I can't believe it's the second last week of the 2020 Photo Challenge. I'm not sure if I stuck with it because of the COVID pandemic or because I wanted to become a better photographer. Either way I was really looking forward to this week's challenge because winter is my favourite time of the year.

Photo Challenge Week 50: Mystery

I can think of a few mysteries right now. Where is the snow? My next theme is winter! For this theme I tried to take advantage of some time spent in the early evening to see the Christmas lights downtown, a winter hike in the Gatineau Park and a daytime visit to the Byward Market.

Photo Challenge Week 49: Oddity

It feels like the last 10 months have been full of oddities. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought changes to daily life that almost feel normal. I always used to wash my hands, but wearing a mask was new. I was okay with keeping my distance, at least from strangers. So my original plan was to

2020 Weekly photo challenge

It's been a long time since I've posted on this site, but it doesn't mean I haven't been busy with photography. In fact, I've been so busy with life that I haven't blogged in over a year on any of my blogs. So this year I thought I would try something different. One of my

Week 42: Silhouette

I've been backdating the posts for the month of October. These photos were unintentional but work as silhouettes, with a bit of processing. Enjoy!